Enigma
by TeamCarlisle
Summary: The complicated story of Sally Jupiter and Eddie Blake; The Silk Spectre & The Comedian
1. Vows

Edward Blake wasn't much of a jealous man. He was a lot of things - egotistical, sociopathic, sarcastic and angry at times; but he hadn't ever cared enough about someone to truly feel that jealous twinge that was currently causing his jaw to subconsciously clench.

At first he wouldn't admit it to himself, misplacing the jealousy for anger over matters other than his current situation, though there was no denying it. Watching Sally Jupiter slink down the isle on her wedding day, clad in a gown that left with an appearance no less than stunning left a jealous burn in Edward Blake's chest.

 _Larry Schexnayder_ , he thought, _what a fuckin' square._

Eddie stared ahead at the alter where the man waited for his bride-to-be and only turned when heard the voice of Nelson Gardiner beside him claim, "They'll make a great pair."

 _Who the fuck is he kidding? A great fuckin' pair?_ Eddie had the urge to reach across and break his jaw from such a senseless, asinine remark. Rather, he quietly whispered a short synopsis of his novella of thoughts, "He's too fuckin' boring to entertain a woman like Sally."

"He balances her out," Nelson politely argued.

"More like flattens her out." Eddie discreetly removed a flask from the inner pocket of his suit and took a swig, prompting a look from his three former crime-fighting comrades beside him. "The fuck are you looking at?"

A woman in the row in front of them turned and Eddie politely smiled, ducking the flash between his knees until she turned back around when the preacher called for everyone to stand in prayer.

The ceremony was ultimately a blank for Eddie - a blank space of mumbled words, head nods and tears. Sally was the only constant - a picturesque beauty far more stunning in her white gown than even the tight, yellow crime fighting piece that she wore all too well.

 _What the fuck are you doing Sally?_ He wanted to ask her and suddenly wished he had prior to the afternoon of her wedding. They had been in the same circle for years, whether fighting crime together or otherwise. Eddie really didn't know why Sally had kept in touch with him after their violent altercation that had cast a cloud on their existing relationship prior to the event. When he received the invitation in the mail, a pale pink envelope that smell just barely of perfume, the knot that lingered in his chest ignited and for possibly the first time ever his body was filled with feelings of regret.

He had imagined her sitting at the kitchen table with one leg crossed over the other ferociously scribbling down names and addresses on the front side of each envelope. He imaged the tug-of-war that must have taken place in her mind when his name crashed through it.

 _Do I or don't I?_ Eddie imagined her thinking to herself before exiting the kitchen with the blank-canvased invitation only to spray a quick puff of her best perfume from the bedroom before scribbling in perfect cursive the two parts of his name with a whisper - Edward Blake.

"Eddie," Hollis Mason was tugging at the left sleeve of his jacket and Eddie snapped out of the temporary daydream. "You can sit, Eddie. They're going to say their vows."

The woman in front of them glanced over her shoulder again and Eddie looked down at her, this time telling the middle-aged busy-body to mind her own business as he slouched back into the seat, extending an arm back the back of Holli's chair. With a huff, the woman turned back around and he could practically hear her mother-fucking him in her mind.

 _Like I give a shit_ , he thought.

"Now, repeat after me," the priest began, prompting more tears as people slid to the edges of their seats in an attempt to get a better look.

Eddie stayed slumped back, but kept his eyes locked on Sally's lips as she carefully repeated the words he was sure they'd rehearsed the night before to get it right. With each word it felt like a knife was cutting him deeper, piercing his skin first and the entering his heart with full force, the final words of "I do" proving to be the final plunge into the depths of him when the marriage truly became official.

Larry slipped the ring on her finger and Sally kissed him in cliché fashion on command of the priest before scanning the crowd with a big, fake smile to please the cameramen and all of those who had come in support of her. Just before the crowd rose to its feet and they were called Mr. and Mrs. Schexnayder for the first time, Sally's eyes met Eddie's and for a moment the corners of her mouth dropped just a hair to release the fake portion of the grin that they all knew would look dashing and authentic in pictures. What she was left with for Eddie was genuine - a smile that was barely there but shining through in her dilated pupils. The moment couldn't have lasted for all of a second or two before the rows of people separating the two of them stood up, breaking the brief intense moment that had occurred so discreetly between them.

When Eddie finally rose to his feet he saw the arch in Sally's neck as she strained for just a moment to see him again before doing her part on the day of her wedding and marching back down the isle, hand in hand with her new husband Larry Schexnayder.

"Congratulations Sally," Byron Lewis, "The Mothman", and her dear friend congratulated her as the pair passed by the last row where her closest allies from the Minutemen all sat.

She smiled, reaching for his hand for a second with her free one and gave another smile.

Eddie clapped slightly off-beat with the rest of his old friends and made sure to capture another second's worth of eye contact as Sally had no choice but to pass by him nearly shoulder to shoulder. Her eyes were eager now, waiting for him to say something; anything as the last of the snaps from the photographers went off with bright flashes of light.

He owed her that moment - something simple and nice; everything that he wasn't. Against his desires he remained generic in his fleeting words with her. "Congratulations honey." Eddie smiled painfully and had the urge to reach back into his pocket for the flash of liquor to take the edge off but out of respect he didn't. His hands continued to come together, repeating the clapping sound over and over again until his hands were a shade darker.

When a hand came down on his shoulder he jumped, his first instincts to fight from all he'd been through in the war and otherwise but a smile formed on his face when Hollis stood next to him with a grin and a subsequent pat on the back. "Well... that part's over. Now, let's go get drunk."


	2. Reception

Sally sat down at a head table with her new husband listening to the speeches, the clanking of glasses and general cheery nature of the guests that attended the event. Larry was all smiles, waving, laughing and smiling as they went through the motions of the evening and posed for pictures that would surely be developed and placed in an album that would sit on a shelf for decades to come.

The attention Sally received was warm and very much welcomed as she enjoyed flaunting her curves even in the modest attire that she'd chosen for the occasion. Even through dinner friends and family members casually made their way to the table where she sat to have a word with 'the bride', and it helped passed the time through perhaps the most docile portion of the evening. While most women, she imagined, might get annoyed at the constant, "hello's" and "you look beautifuls" thrown out their by her acquaintances, it wasn't something that bothered her in the slightest. Internally Sally credited her crime-fighting notoriety as the reason why the attention didn't at all feel foreign - even in between bites of the piece of chicken that, as a result, took her nearly twenty minutes to consume.

When dessert finally rolled around and the band the two of them had hired began to play, Sally felt simultaneously more at ease and more tense. It was an odd combination, though the feelings clung to her. The at ease feeling stemmed from the closure of the stiff portion of events concluding; the tense part came from what the remainder of the evening would entail, given the company.

The first dance between her and Larry should have felt perfect; just right in a sense. But the reality was that things weren't perfect. Sally felt a small ounce of contentment, like she knew she would be secure upon her retirement from the Minutemen because of Larry, but the tug at her heart strings for years of misplaced feelings weighed her down.

Larry twirled Sally around the dancefloor as everyone watched with grace that left most of the women either sighing or crying. They played their roles well and on the surface their relationship could have passed for true love. Sally did love Larry in some way, as she knew he did with her - but neither of them felt that overwhelming, passionate connection and in their time alone together it was painfully obvious. Still, the security Sally had with him, and the fact that Larry knew Sally was well out of his league allowed the two of them to turn their cheeks to the feelings that quietly reminded them that there was surely someone out there for each of them that would be a better fit.

 _We're comfortable,_ Sally knew; and for that she also knew it would work. Not all marriages have that special spark and it was okay. Larry would take care of her and make sure her life was just that - comfrtable.

"Let's hear it for the newlyweds," the lead singer spoke with bold enthusiasm into the microphone and smiled wide as the crowd erupted with a delicate clap as Larry dipped Sally.

While upside down for that second her eyes locked with Eddie's, who stood clapping beside Hollis Mason and their other mutual friends. Unlike the rest of the men, his smile wasn't wide and natural, it was painful and forced; more of a close-mouth smirk than a smile. She could tell well enough, even in that half-a-second at an impossible angle that he was bothered.

And I give a shit, why? Sally asked herself as Larry pulled her back upright so they were face to face.

Sally's smile immediately returned and she kissed her new husband when the sound of clanking glasses sounded off as the music came to a close.

when Larry pulled her back in for a second kiss Sally found herself disturbed by the first thought that crossed through her mind.

I wonder if Eddie's jealous. Sally tried not to sigh noting that wasn't a thought a newlywed woman should have for a man other than the one she just married.

Somewhere inside Sally hated him - hated him for attempting to assault her years before, hated him for his twisted sense of humor, for his sinister personality; but most of all she hated him for making her care for him so deeply despite all of that.

With the closure of the first dance, a short series of kisses and a collection of friendly waves, Sally whispered into Larry's ear. "Time for a drink?"

"I suppose it is." He smiled and kissed her again. "What would you like?"

"Gin and tonic?" Sally winked and grazed his face as an announcement was made encouraging others to the dance floor and to make their way to the bar. She watched as Larry led the way a moment before accepting another wave of congratulations as friends and family swarmed where she stood as they all prepared to dance the night away.

Larry fought off a similar crowd upon receiving their drinks. He smiled and bumped elbows in place of handshakes as each hand was filled with a glass of perfectly blended concoctions for both himself and Sally.

When he finally made it back to where she stood they exchanged smiles and she accepted the small cocktail glass before taking a long sip.

"Larry!" Eddie's booming voice rattled her like an earthquake as he crept in from behind, reaching a hand out toward the groom. "Congratulations."

Larry looked up at Eddie's big smile and wanted to smack it off his face. He knew of the past; about Edward Blake's attempt to assault Sally. At that moment he hated himself for asking her to let it go - to leave the incident off the record. Still, he returned the handshake and smiled cordially in spite of his deeper feelings. Larry didn't understand why Sally had insisted on inviting him to their wedding, though he decided it was on many levels the bride's day and so he never argued.

Without looking at her Eddie continued his march to bar, though spoke quietly as he passed by when Larry's attention was drawn elsewhere.

"You look beautiful Sally."

Sally let out a breath, watching as he walked and waited for him to look back at her. When he never did she felt a twinge of disappointment and then placed a hand on Larry's arm.

"I'm going to the patio for a moment to get some air."

"Do you want me to-"

"No." Sally cut him off but smiled and kissed his cheek, "I just forgot how overwhelming it was to be smothered with attention like this."

Larry smiled back contently and nodded before Sally hurried toward a set of double doors that led to a patio.

Eddie ordered his typical bourbon on the rocks and waited, glancing around the room just in time to see Sally walking outside. He smirked to himself and turned back to the bartender. "Make it a double."


	3. To Be Continued

"Sally, you look amazing."

"Congratulations Sally!"

"Such a beautiful ceremony."

These were the comments Sally received over again as a small collection of guests reconvened on the patio.

She smiled politely and thanked each of them before settling herself against a railing the overlooked the countryside as the sun crept below the trees.

"Sally." She spun around and smiled immediately as Nelson greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and a friendly hug.

"Thank you for coming," she flashed a smile and hugged him a second time before spotting Byron and Hollis make their way outside through the set of double doors.

"You look so happy," Nelson gushed sincerely.

"I am." Sally smiled and then welcomed hugs from her other two crime-fighting friends.

"Glad the nuptials are over?" Hollis teased, nudging her elbow, "Let the fun begin."

She laughed, "Oh that part was so stiff, wasn't it?"

"No." Hollis smiled, "I just know how you operate Sally."

Sally raised her glass and the two of them tapped their drinks together. She winked, "You'd be correct."

"I miss the days we would all get together for drinks after a hard job," Byron added, "The good ol' days."

"Are over..." Sally sighed and took a sip from her glass, "Not to be depressing."

"Nothing could be depressing on your wedding day."

Sally smiled at him with a nod and then saw the French doors open again that led to the patio. She felt a heaviness develop in her chest and a wave of heat flush into her cheeks when she saw Eddie.

She looked down after watching his eyes scan the small crowd on the patio before finally spotting their small group off to the side. From her peripheral vision she saw him heading in their direction and began sipping on the thin, black straw that extended off the edge of the glass.

"There you are. Having a party without me?" Eddie smiled wide, greeting their group as a whole and drawing a few laughs from the guys.

"What're you drinking Eddie?" Sally asked, deciding to take the lead on the cat and mouse game that came all too naturally to both of them.

"I'll give you one guess." He smiled wider looking directly at her.

"Double bourbon on the rocks."

"You betcha." Eddie smacked his lips after taking a small sip and winked, drawing Sally's eyes downward.

Hollis raised his glass. "Well... here's to you Sally. To many years of happiness."

She smiled. "Thank you."

"Cheers."

The five of them brought their glasses to the middle, tapping them together and then took another sip.

"Thank you all for coming today," Sally told them, making eye contact with each of the men and saving Eddie for last.

"Wouldn't miss it honey," he told her, drawing nods all around from the rest of them.

"More beer?" Hollis asked.

Sally motioned to his nearly-full bottle. "You have one."

Hollis chuckled before downing the beverage in less than ten seconds before smacking his lips. "Ahh..." he sighed, causing Sally to laugh out loud.

"You're an animal," she teased.

"Aren't we all." He smacked Byron and looked around the group of men. "Anyone else for another?"

They all nodded except for Eddie, who smiled and shook his head before glancing back at Sally.

"I'll send your groom out if I cross paths with him Sally," Byron insisted with a smile, sipping on his drink.

"Please do." She smiled back and regained Eddie's gaze when the others turned to head back inside.

For several seconds neither of them spoke and then Sally broke the silence.

"How are you?" She asked simply.

"Just fuckin' fine," he lied, masking his mischievous grin behind the tumbler of liquor.

"Even after the war?" Sally probed. "You and Manhattan were over there for-"

"Routine shit," Eddie interrupted, taking a small swig from his glass.

Sally smiled smally, "I bet."

He looked at her, nodding again and then glanced outward at the darkening sky. "Picked a hell of a place."

"It's nice," she agreed.

"You, uh..." Eddie took another sip as he masked his hesitation to ask the question that had been swirling around in his mind, "You ever think of not inviting me to this shin-dig of yours?"

Sally's eyes widened a bit for less than a second as the question took her off-guard. A slight heat cooked up in her cheeks but she cleared her throat and answered the question. "No."

"Mm..." He wasn't wholly buying it but he decided not to push.

"That was a long time ago," Sally went on, sipping her own drink this time, and not putting any particular mention to the violent altercation that occurred between them.

"Doesn't change what I did."

She looked at him more directly, hitting him with a more serious stare. _Is he actually feeling guilt? Empathy?_ The truth was that Sally had never known such a feelings lingered in the depths of Eddie Blake, even in the slightest of ways.

"I've moved on," she informed him. "You should too." Sally's eyes were locked on his and after several seconds of him meeting her gaze with an unspoken intensity that left her feeling weak she had to look away.

Eddie took another sip of his drink and leaned against the railing that overlooked the breathtaking landscape that extended beyond the wedding venue. "You're still a spitfire." He grinned and only looked over when she stood next to him in a mirrored position.

Sally couldn't help but give a little grin, leaving Eddie chuckling with approval.

"And you're still an arrogant bastard," she told him, still smiling.

"I believe that's a curse I was born with."

"We'll never _really_ change who we are."

"I'll drink to that." Eddie tapped his glass to hers and let out a sigh after taking another sip. "You happy?"

Sally looked at him again. "What?"

He cleared his throat and kept his forearm against the railing as he turned to face her more directly. "Are you happy?" Eddie repeated, "With him."

She was taken aback for a second and Eddie's mouth tipped up in a fleeting half-smirk when it took her a moment to respond.

"Yes." Sally nodded adamantly as if she was reassuring herself, "Yes. I'm happy."

"Good." He winked. "That's all I want for ya honey."

"Is it?"

Eddie stopped himself midway as he began to raise his glass toward his lips again. Before he could answer the two of them spun around upon hearing a prominent, over-pronounced throat-clearing sound.

Sally felt a rush of butterflies and smiled to face her new husband. "I told the boys to send for you Larry," she lied.

"Hollis said I ought to come find my bride out here." Larry couldn't keep his tone lighthearted as he stared Eddie down.

"Here I am," she gushed and immediately attached herself to his side, leaving a kiss on his cheek.

"Here you are." Larry smiled this time and nodded toward the open French doors, "Mind if I take you for a spin around the dancefloor?"

"I wouldn't mind a bit." She accepted a kiss from him and then Larry glanced back at Eddie, staking his claim of the woman in his arms. "Help yourself to another one of those." He motioned to the glass in Eddie's hands, "Open bar, don't forget."

Eddie simply nodded and then met Sally's gaze again before Larry towed her inside.

For a moment he stood there, this time taking another long sip from his glass. When the two of them disappeared inside he spun back around to rest his arms on the banister that separated them from the rest of the world.

 _To be continued_ , Eddie thought to himself.


	4. Not Yet

The wedding day had come and gone. Well over a month had passed and Eddie had gradually let the burning feelings he'd felt on that day subside into the background of thoughts. Every day life was a distraction that proved to work, and after a day or two of feeling a bit depressed while wondering where Sally had gone on her honeymoon, Eddie was back to his typical routines and the misplaced jealousy diminished.

In the course of that month he'd courted countless women to fill the void through meaningless one-night stands. Eddie knew he wasn't the type for a relationship - especially when it came to Sally. Their past was complicated at best and fucked up at the worst. He knew they at least stood somewhere in between when he'd received the wedding invitation with her name on it. Whatever type of relationship they had still held some type of meaning.

Eddie hated the harbored feelings that lingered there for Sally. He knew it would never work - not realistically. She was married. He was a womanizer. To say he hurt her in the past would be an understatement. Eddie knew he was no good for Sally though she was the one person that he could never wholly get out of his mind.

Late nights proved to the be the time when he found himself daydreaming of her the most, especially after a stiff drink or two. Eddie knew her phone number and once had dialed all the numbers but one when he'd gotten so drunk on bourbon that he barely was able to stumble into his own bed. Still, he hadn't called because somewhere inside he knew he owed it to Sally to leave her alone.

Eddie stood by the small bar in his home now and reached for his preferred liquor - a half full whiskey bottle that he'd only bought a week or so before. He helped himself no another hefty portion and then slumped down onto a stool. When a knock came at the door he sat still for a moment before taking a sip and then rising back to his feet.

He eyed the clock on the wall that read just a little past nine o'clock, though to Eddie it more like the middle of the night. For several seconds he stared at the big, gray door that led to the hallway of the penthouse suite where he resided in the heart of the city and then began his slow march across the room when another more timid knock quietly reminded him that someone was there.

In the profession he was in and after the conditioned behavior to always be on edge from the Vietnam War, Eddie wasn't open and eager to fling open his door when he wasn't expecting a visitor. Hell, he didn't even feel comfortable standing in the vicinity of the door. A bullet, he knew, could penetrate the material with ease if there was someone waiting to assassinate him on the other side.

Eddie remained light on his feet, slinking the remaining distance. For another long moment he waited beside the door before finally edging partially in front of it to look through the small peep hole that gave him a view of the area outside. When he saw Sally hesitate before turning to go he let the intriguing excitement will him to fling the door open without another moment of hesitation.

A discreet smirk formed on his face when she jumped and turned back around to face him upon stopping dead in her tracks.

Neither of them said anything at first, though Sally finally broke the silence with the only thing she could think of.

"I... I didn't think you'd be home."

Where Eddie would have typically and purposely looked her up and down he strictly held her eye contact. "Is that why you came by Sally? Because you thought I wasn't home."

Sally looked back at him, noting her words must have sounded a bit foolish. Of course she had gone to his place that night with the assumption and hopes that he would be there. She wasn't exactly sure what she wanted to say to him, but the gnawing feelings at the pit of her stomach after seeing him at the wedding were hovering above her like a dark cloud so intensely that she knew she had to do something.

"I meant that I thought you _weren't_ home," she corrected herself, "After I knocked a few times."

"Well, you know how shit is in our lifestyle." Eddie folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the frame. "Can't be too fuckin' cautious. I wasn't expecting anyone."

"I can go."

He took in her angsty body language, "I'm saying this honestly honey... you look like you could use a drink."

Sally gave a barely-there, nervous smile and then took her first few steps back in his direction.

Eddie moved to the side, swallowing hard and masking the butterflies in his stomach as she passed by him through the doorway and into his home.

"How's married life?" he asked, doing a remarkable job of keeping his tone light and casual.

Sally's eyes stalked the door as it closed shut separating them from the rest of the world. When the light click indicated that the bolt had fallen back into place she turned back toward Eddie, who was staring at her intently with an elbow leaned on the edge of the bar. It was almost as if he'd moved too swiftly from one point to the next, as he stood so stiffly like he had been there in that same spot for an hour.

"Married life is... fine." She managed a smile, prompting him to simply nod before rounding the bar to retrieve his drink.

"Can I offer you a-"

"No." Sally cut him off, "But thank you."

Eddie stared at her a minute and then smiled wide. "Suit yourself honey." He took a long sip without looking away and then smacking his lips together.

She made her way toward him at the bar and sat down on one of the stools on the opposite side of where he stood. "Woodward Reserve. That's a good brand." Sally nodded toward the bottle and reached a finger out to trace the white lettering on the front of the bottle.

"I think so." Eddie took another sip and took in her movements before finally asking the question that was on his mind since witnessing her there outside of his door. "What are you doing here Sally?"

She looked up from the bottle that had proven to be just a second's worth of deflecting from her purpose. The truth was, Sally wasn't completely sure what she was doing at Eddie's apartment that night, but she answered him with partial honesty.

"I wanted to see how you were doing."

Eddie's face quickly twisted into an amused smile with eyes to match. He chuckled to himself and took another swig from the glass.

"You're drinking that like water," Sally pointed out.

"What are you my mother?" he teased, winking just after and pleased to see her flash a genuine grin in his direction. "I'm just-"

"Being an asshole," she finished.

"Now there's something I can't fuckin' deny."

Sally gave a little laugh, prompting him to do the same. Again, a silence fell over the two of them and she spoke again. "I wanted to see how you were doing after coming home... from the war."

Eddie shrugged. "It's just business... as usual." He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head, "It was a big, sweaty mess of a fuckin' place."

"I can't imagine."

"And you don't want to." Eddie shook his head and swirled the liquid in his glass. "Just one big fuckin' mess."

Sally knew she shouldn't have cared but she asked him more directly and honestly. "Are you alright?"

He stared back at her, unable to crack a smile to mask some of the emotions that still lingered from the experience overseas - the people he'd killed, the near death experiences, the woman in the bar who he'd shot at point blank range. Eddie was an impulsive sociopath and he acknowledged that whole-heartedly the older he got. With age came just the smallest bouts of guilt that hadn't accompanied his derelict behaviors in the past. The events in Vietnam had managed to creep under his skin just enough to keep him drinking a little heavier and thinking about his decisions a little more.

Eddie sipped the whiskey again. "I'm fine Sally."

She could see there was a part of him that wasn't but she didn't push the issue. "Okay." Her eyes landed on the glass in his hand and in turn she reached for the bottle and one of the several glasses that sat upside on top of the bar.

"You want ice?" He asked. "I have a full tray."

"No." Sally shook her head, "I don't mind it like this."

"So you like it _up_ then?"

She looked back up to meet his eyes, expecting to see him grinning from the subtle innuendo he threw at her but he wasn't. Sally felt her face grow hot and she began to pour the smallest amount of the liquor into her glass. "I do."

"Speaking of 'I do'..." Eddie continued to drink, "Where is your husband tonight?"

Sally should have lied and told him he was at home waiting for her return but she decided to be honest. "He's out of town... business."

"He know you're here?"

She shook her head, not wanting to hide or hold back anything. "No, Eddie." Sally shook her head after a brief hesitation, "Don't say anything... about this... if you don't mind."

"I wasn't planning on it."

"Thank you."

"Do you feel like you're doing something wrong?" he asked.

Sally looked into his eyes, swallowing hard from the raw nature of his words and the raspy ring in his voice. She felt a chill run down her back. "Not yet."


	5. Paralyzed

"You don't know what you're doing Sally."

She stared back at Eddie, confidence looming in her irises despite the soft twitch in her right eye. "I'm a grown woman. I've seen and done enough in my lifetime to know _exactly_ what it is I'm doing."

Eddie sucked his teeth, taken off-guard by her response to his challenge and then cleared his throat. "What exactly _are_ you doing then?"

Sally tipped the corner of her mouth up in a smile, "This is beginning to sound like the opening of some Abbot and Costello skit."

He didn't smile back as she had anticipated and for that she felt a shudder run the length of her back that she managed to mask with perfection. Sally cleared her throat and then finished off the liquor in her glass before reaching back for the bottle.

"Easy there doll." Eddie began to shake his head as she helped herself to another small helping of the alcohol that was set on top of the table.

"I can hold my liquor." Sally set the bottle back down and lift the glass to her lips.

"If you're drinking to calm your nerves, Sally, then maybe you shouldn't be here."

She looked back at him. Neither of them blinked and she set the glass back down. With a simple nod she drew her fingers across her lips. "Then I guess I'll be going."

Eddie watched as she turned to go without hesitation. Inside he felt that she would turn around partway, make eye contact with him and subtly demand with her gaze that he demand her to stop and stay. When she failed to do so and her hand reached the doorknob he cleared his throat extra loudly to make her pause.

Again, the two of them were caught in a stalemate - a chess match of stares that wouldn't quit. When Eddie said nothing Sally turned the knob on the door. "Goodnight Eddie."

"Sally." The submission in his voice as he said her name almost made Sally smirk in her triumph over him. Still, she refrained and turned her body toward him, letting her fingers still dance along the handle on the door as she stroked the length of it.

Eddie took a sip from his glass, swallowing hard and smacking his lips from the burn all without breaking eye contact. Finally, he decided there was no choice but to take a back seat to his typical realm of control. "What did you come here for?"

Sally slowly released the door handle and placed her palm flat on the door. She hadn't come there to sugarcoat anything, or to be dishonest and so she spoke truthfully. "I saw how you were looking at me."

"I've always had eyes for you honey." Eddie finally cracked a genuine grin in an attempt to make light of the comment and win back some of the power, "You know that." He sighed when she didn't go on. "When? Just now?"

"At my wedding."

"You looked good." He took another sip, "What can I say? All elegant and shit..." Eddie snickered to himself and finally looked down into the bottom of his glass.

"It's not the gawking I'm speaking of."

Eddie looked back up, pressing his eyebrows together as he did. "Now you've lost me."

"Well that sums it up."

"I'm confused doll." He snickered, "And I'm not used to that so catch me up."

"Now you've lost me," Sally repeated, "That's the look I was talking about. You were looking at me like you lost me."

Eddie tried his damnedest to crack a smile; to come up with a joke or a witty, snide comment but there was nothing. For the first time his mind was blank and he struggled to think of something resourceful in his rebuttal .

"Like I said," he finally spoke, "I'm a little confused by what you're getting at."

Sally shook her head and began to stalk him across the room. "No you're not."

"Oh, I am." He swallowed hard; the big, tough man that typically oozed with confidence and made people fear him looked more like a deer with its foot in a snare as Sally walked toward him.

Eddie's back grazed the counter as he subconsciously took a step back. It wasn't the physical aspect of what was brewing that made him feel insecure, see-through and weak in the knees. It was the unfamiliar territory of emotions that held him paralyzed beneath Sally's stare. She was the only one capable of holding that power over him.

Sally had no idea what her next move would be. She hadn't completely decided in her mind which lines she would be comfortable crossing. Eddie's statue-like state and the fact that he couldn't wholly deny her claims left her feeling simultaneously weak and strong. She had once though that Eddie Blake, the Comedian, the ruthless vigilante, was an unbreakable and unstoppable force of nature. Now, she could see his humanity. It caused Sally's self-imposed boundary lines to become even blurrier.

They were nearly face to face now and Eddie remained silently staring back at Sally in the kitchen of his bachelor pad. His chest heaved up and down once and Sally reached for the glass in his hand, only to set it down behind him on the counter. The move put the two of them even closer.

Eddie stared down as Sally rested a hand on his chest. The other still rested on the counter top behind where he stood perched against it. When she pushed up onto her toes her lips connected with his and for a moment their senses were almost completely cut off.

When Eddie failed to turn into the aggressor as Sally had suspected, she ended the long, closed-mouth kiss and stared up at him.

Eddie's eyes flickered open and he dropped a hand to Sally's cheek, letting his thumb dance in circles along the side of her face. "You don't know what you're fuckin' getting into."

"Yes I do," she said quietly back. Her fingertips trailed down the center of his chest before she finally reached for his free hand.

Eddie wasn't sure what to think or how to feel. He tried to subconsciously blame his lack of wit on his experiences in the war but he knew that was all bullshit. He'd felt things for Sally long before that night, and long before her wedding. That was why he couldn't stop her. He wanted her like he hadn't wanted a woman before and he hated that anyone, particularly a woman, held that power over him.

Sally towed him past the dark living room and in through an open doorway to the bedroom. A small light illuminated the back corner of the room and bounced off the dark, gray walls. Her eyes traveled toward an oversized, unmade bed. The constant theme of grays suited Eddie though she only had a moment to think about the feng shui of the room because she felt his arm snake around her midsection at the foot of the bed.

Her eyes closed when he dropped his lips to the base of her neck. She knew it was wrong - all of it; but in that moment she didn't care. Whatever power her willed her to Eddie's apartment that night made her feel as if she needed him more than anything she'd ever needed in her lifetime. The feeling was there, though it felt so misplaced and she didn't know why.

Eddie moaned as he bit down lightly into her soft flesh and held her tighter from behind, cupping her breast in one hand while the tips of his fingers on the other danced along her waistline.

Sally felt his erection against her and hummed his name as his grasp tightened around her. She bit down on her bottom lip, squeezing his hand with her own and then slowly peeled it away from her body so she could face him. Without another thought she brought her lips back to his, this time crashing them down with a force that wouldn't quit and leaving his desperate tongue fighting against hers in the heat of the moment.

Each time she moaned into his mouth he matched it, though Sally finally won the battle when his big, strong hands grasped her by the outsides of her hips as he proceeded to lift her off the ground.

Sally locked her arms and legs around him, and then pulled him back to her when he placed her back flat on the bed.

"God Sally..." Eddie kissed her hard again, pushing outward at her inner thighs with one hand as he settled himself in between her legs.

She moaned a response and tangled a hand in his hair as he lifted her shirt and trailed kisses up toward her breast before lifting the shirt up and over her head.

Sally's hands traveled up the inside of his shirt, caressing his muscular back and allowing him a chance to duck out of it as she peeled off the rest of her clothing.

Eddie let out a deep breath, taking a second to admire he raw, bare figure on top of the tangled sheets before rushed to removed his pants and leaned back down to recapture her lips.

"Why?" he whispered, not yet progressing their intimacy.

Sally kept her arms around them, longing for him to continue but breathed in heavily several times in a row as she looked him in the eye. "Why what?" she whispered back.

"Why did you come here tonight?"

She couldn't look away from his serious stare as he hovered above her. Sally almost couldn't respond, as his hand traveled the length of her body and he hooked his arm beneath the back of her knee. At the same time he pushed himself inside of her, leaving both of them sighing and Sally's arms tightening around the back of his shoulders.

"I need this," she replied. It was the only coherent response she could manage with his bare body entangled with hers.

Eddie had no intention of turning her away. He was aching to know the real reason why Sally had knocked on his door that night but he didn't have it in him to dig for an answer right then. "Okay," he said quietly back.

Sally gave a nod and guided his face back to hers. "Okay."


	6. Chemistry

Sally's eyes flickered open in the darkness and she took a deep breath, startled by the unfamiliar surroundings. It only took her brain a second or two to catch up and she recognized the dark, gray walls of Eddie Blake's lavish apartment.

She processed it all at once, like a jigsaw puzzle being rapidly put back together and then rolled quietly from her side to her back.

Eddie's light, even snores next to her made the moment real. Sally knew she wasn't dreaming. All that had happened that night with Eddie had been real - amazingly real.

Sally traced her fingers up her stomach and rested a hand in the center of her bare chest. The thudding of her heart hummed in her eardrums in the otherwise still night. What had happened between the two of them was wrong in more ways than she could comprehend. There was the simple fact of her being newly married to Larry, though the deeper layers made the act all the more complicated to think back on. Sally whole-heartedly had come to the conclusion that she loved Eddie as much as she hated him. Their chemistry had been an unmatched force of nature that sooner or later would win the battle over all logic, reasoning or sense of right and wrong.

She turned to face him now, laying the side of her face against the big, fluffy pillow to take in the side of Eddie that she hadn't seen before. He was serene in his slumber, and this was perhaps the only time Sally could accurately use the word to describe him. With each deep breath his bare chest heaved up and down as he faced the world on his back with one hand across his midsection; the only draped lazily at his side.

It was quite literally the calm after the storm - a storm that had been brewing for years and, at times, had spun out of control. Still, laying there that night in Eddie's bed felt nothing short of perfect.

 _This is it_ , Sally knew, _It has to be._

Carrying on a love affair with Eddie wasn't in the cards, and it was simply out of the question. Sally wasn't a foolish girl who would be at his beck and call. She was foolish in her own right, and that was something she had acknowledged from the moment she had left her house the night before.

Eddie shifted in his sleep, alerting her to the current moment and pulling her away from her collection of thoughts and daydreams. He let out a moan of sorts and then rolled onto his side to face her as his eyes, now, flickered open.

Sally almost closed hers when he first moved to provide the allusion that she hadn't been awake, but we his sleepy stare caught hers she knew she had missed that opportunity.

At first neither of them said anything, though Eddie slunk an arm around her midsection and pulled her to him a little tighter. "You been laying awake this whole time?" he asked, his voice scratchy and tired.

"No," she whispered back.

"You lying?"

Sally shook her head and responded in the same way. "No."

Eddie closed his eyes a moment and then reopened them. "You're starting to regret this shit. I can fuckin' tell." When he removed his hand from her waist Sally felt a short wave of disappointment.

She shook her head again and entangled her foot in between his beneath the covers. "I would have left already if I did."

Eddie studied her features now, unsure of whether or not he believed her. When he felt her knee slid between his he slid his hand back up the outside of her thigh and locked it firmly on her naked hip.

Sally closed her eyes and rested a hand against his chest as she felt his hand reposition again to the back of her head as he cradled her against his body.

 _What is this?_ Sally wondered. It wasn't Eddie's style to make someone feel secure or wanted or even good about themselves in any way. He was a callus, cruel, sociopathic monster at times. So the fact that he held Sally more gently than any other man had in her lifetime was an enigma in itself. _Why?_ She couldn't help but wonder, though simultaneously she couldn't complain. In that one, perfect moment she felt safe and loved. The last person she expected to make her feel that way was Eddie.

"Try to get some sleep," he requested, planting a kiss on the top of her head now that sent a shiver down her back.

Sally looked up at him, seeing Eddie had all the intentions of falling back to sleep tangled up in her. She wanted it too, but she also knew that this truly was their only opportunity for a night together. It was a hard boundary that Sally had already set for both of them.

"Eddie..." She whispered his name, drawing his eyes open. Sally swallowed hard and ran a hand beneath his arm and up his back, tracing the muscular lines with her fingers.

He let out a breath through his nose and waited until he felt as if he'd read the signals properly.

Sally gently urged him on top of her, pulling at the back of his shoulder and closed her eyes when she felt his lips press against hers. She moaned when she felt his tongue against hers, massaging it with a sensual intensity that left her entire body aching for more of his touch.

"Mmm..." He continued to kiss her, harder now as he lifted her hips just enough to push inside of her. When she gasped his name in a break in their kiss Eddie moaned and bowed his head so his face was buried in her neck.

Sally bit down on her bottom lip, gripping his hair with one hand and his back with the other as he tilted her hips back a little more to continue her pursuit of her body. With each pump of his hips she released a moan into his ear, making his uneven panting breaths more desperate as the seconds passed.

Her bottom lip separated from her top and Sally arched her neck back as he carried on, giving him access to trail kisses down her neck toward her collar bone.

"Ohh... fuck... Sally..." Eddie groaned her name in a husky whisper, his hot breaths decorating the top of her breasts. He wanted to touch every part of her, and so he released one of her legs and engulfed her left breast with his hand, taking the center of it into his mouth before grabbing her face to kiss her hard again.

Sally closed her eyes, ravaging his mouth back as they kissed savagely while he matched the pace with each thrust into her. Her whimper into his mouth set him off, and he moaned louder now as the bed creaked with more consistency beneath them.

She felt her climax approaching as a warmth began to spread throughout her lower body, stemming from her feet to her calves and into her inner thighs before and explosion of pleasure and heat made her entire body tense up around him. "Eddie..." Sally didn't care how desperate she sounded. Her entire body felt like she had just been injected with a powerful dose of heroin, or what she imagined that might be like. Her eyes rolled back beneath closed eyes, toes curled and thighs clutching around the outsides of his as she relished in the powerful high he had given her.

"Fuck..." The word oozed out of his mouth, lingering on his tongue as he pushed into her harder now, several times in a row with a parade of curse words, pants and moans that accompanied her name a final time.

Sally felt all of the muscles in his back stiffen up beneath her fingertips as she held him more tightly than before.

"Oh..." Eddie breathed the word against her neck several times in a row as he began to try to relax. She held onto him tightly still, repositioning a hand on the back of his head.

For a minute or so he just laid there and Sally had begun to wonder if he had fallen asleep. When he finally picked his head up he planted a kiss on her lips and then shifted off of her to his side of the bed. Like before, he pulled her to him and Sally found herself engulfed in his warmth with their legs intertwined and Eddie's arms protectively around her.

Neither of them spoke again that night. Realistically she knew that words could have ruined the nature of the moment - particularly coming from Eddie's mouth. Rather than try to complicate it, Sally closed her eyes and found herself drifting off to confusing "what-if" scenarios until Eddie's snores finally lulled her back to sleep.


End file.
